


The Virtuoso

by LunariaSilver



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst, F/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, two emotionally stunted adults in love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29191443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunariaSilver/pseuds/LunariaSilver
Summary: Ivela was the apple of her family's eyes. Emphasis on the word was. The moment that Killua was born, she was always second best. The spare. In case he died. You know.Of course, that was fine with Ivela. She knew how to deal with her problems. It wasn't long before she had a plan on how to deal with her Killua problem. She was going to give him a fantastic birthday present...Unfortunately, it didn't work out. It was okay though, Ivela was nothing if not a good sport. Besides, she...felt a little guilty about it.Her family wasn't pleased with her, and banned her to Meteor City under threat of death if she were to ever leave.Naturally, leaving was unthinkable.Although, the longer she stayed, the more the place grew on her....and the more she found herself wanting to disobey the last order her family had ever given her.
Relationships: Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer/Original Character(s), Kuroro Lucifer | Chrollo Lucifer/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm posting this on three different sites, so bear with me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ivela Zoldyck.  
> She has lovely blue eyes that are terrifying when leveled upon you. (Seriously, she tends to give you the impression she's plotting your demise. Usually.) She has short white hair kept in a perfect bob at the beginning of this story. She's 15 years old. You guys get the most basic of descriptions. Fight me. I'm bad at describing.

“This is it.” My grandfather said, unceremoniously dropping me from his back.

I landed on my feet gracefully and looked around, my face impassive. Internally, I was screaming. _This place was awful._

“This is to be my new home?” I asked in a monotonous voice.

He turned to face me and regarded me harshly. “Don’t sound so unimpressed. You brought this on yourself.”

I blinked slowly. “This is just the way I sound.”

His eyes narrowed for a brief moment before he sighed. “Ivela. You understand that you deserve this?”

I nodded blankly. “Of course.” _Of course I deserve this._ There was a part of me that disagreed though. It was wrong, of course. I almost wished I could believe it.

“Well then. I wish you the best.” And then, he was gone. My grandfather, and pretty close to the only link I had left to my family.

I sighed, my eyes finding the violin case that I had brought with me.

I reached back with my free arm to see if my rucksack was still there. It was.

This time when I sighed, it was a little less heavy.

With my belongings now checked, I took in my surroundings.

Honestly, at my core, I was a rich kid. In all of my 15 years I had wanted for nothing. Truly, I was born blessed. Having next to nothing was a strange concept for me.

I was surrounded by trash. I couldn’t see where anyone could have possibly made a home here. What a dismal place.

Nonetheless, I started walking, trying to find…something. An opening in the garbage here, maybe?

I could tell there were people nearby. I was actually fairly certain that they were watching me. It wasn’t actually much of a problem for me. What could they possibly do to me?

I kept walking aimlessly for what felt like hours, unable to find a break in the garbage.

It would be just like my grandfather to leave me on top of the scrap, instead of leading me to any kind of opening into what I assumed would be some kind of shanty town.

After a while, I was bored. I could still feel people around me, though there were significantly less than before. I almost cared enough to seek them out, but…why?

I ground my feet to a halt before unceremoniously plopping myself down onto what I could only assume was a large piece of scrap metal. At least the sky here looked the same. I was above Meteor City. I knew that. I understood that I had not yet even made it into the city. And yet, my only thought was…

_This place sucks._

-

-

I didn’t know how long I had slept. Time seemed meaningless. All I knew was that there were some unsuspecting fools trying to creep up on me. As if I would sleep without being aware of my surroundings. I had wondered how long it would take somebody to make a move. It was really what I was waiting for.

Without a word, I kicked my feet up, effectively jumping to a standing position.

There were 4 people staring at me in shock. I regarded them through half lidded eyes.

“What took you so long? I need a guide into the city.” I stated.

The woman in the group was the first to laugh. The other followed her example. “A guide? Lady, we’re here to rob you!” I assumed she also intended to murder me afterwards, but…

I didn’t dignify her with a response. I found that often, actions spoke louder than words.

By constricting the muscles in my left hand, I effectively made it into a blade. Not my weapon of choice, but efficient. I launched myself forward, coming face to face with one of the men accompanying the woman in an instant. Slitting throats was something familiar to me. Calming, even. Despite myself, my lips curled into a soft smile.

Nothing about being here was normal except for this. Taking a life was as familiar as breathing. Oftentimes it was as _easy_ as breathing.

My father wouldn’t have approved of me slitting their throats. Too messy. And he was right. As I dispatched yet another of the thugs, (who I vaguely registered freaking out and trying to defend themselves,) blood splashed onto my clothing.

The difference between my father and I was that I kind of enjoyed the blood.

The third man was down.

I stood in front of the woman now, with my hand pressed against her throat. _At least there’s one thing about my life that hasn’t changed._

“Can you guide me into the city?” I asked the woman, the smile having dropped from my face. I briefly wondered if my dead eyes would forever be ingrained in her memory.

“Yes! Fuck! Yes!”


	2. Meteor City Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivela starts her new life.

Despite my better judgement, I decided to let the woman who attacked me live. She told me her name was Zara. I thought that was a stupid name.

I told her that, too.

She wasn't pleased, but what could she do about it? I had already made it pretty clear that the only reason she was alive was because of...I don't know, some sense of whimsy. Regardless, I was sure that I wouldn't see much of her in the future. It wasn't like I seemed like the type to run a gang, so she had no reason to bother me in the future with some strange desire to suck up to me.

Or at least I hoped not. The concept seemed like a lot of effort.

Now I was regretting not killing her. Those thoughts weighing heavily on me, I set about figuring out exactly how Meteor City worked in the first place.

It didn't take long for me to make a name for myself. Zara helped, actually. Immediately after I let her go she started spreading rumors about some "demon child."

I took a great deal of offense to that nickname.

I was 15 years old. I wasn't a child.

Meteor City was awful. Practically lawless. Dangerous. And yet...aside from a few big names I had to avoid, I found myself flourishing there.

Old habits died hard. Soon after my arrival people started coming to me to 'take care of' their problems. It seemed I was an assassin wherever I went. I had almost the finest amenities that Meteor City had to offer, which was admittedly not much.

We had no plumbing. Disease ran rampant. I threw an excrement bucket on someone's head for fun. There were some water sources, of course. But...well. They weren't exactly filtered.

I set myself up a decent base by one such water source. I threw the previous occupants out back.

I was starting to get settled into my new life of misery when I woke up one morning to find my violin missing.

My violin.

The only gift my grandfather ever gave me.

The only thing that brought me an ounce of comfort.

My most cherished possession.

The only thing that was keeping me sane in this hellhole.

I had to find it.

-

-

-

I had left a trail of blood behind me. Finally I stood in front of one of the only places I had actively avoided in Meteor City. It was a large building by Meteor City standards, but it was still pretty small.

HQ of the so called Spiders. They were an up and coming gang that was already gaining some sway in the City due to their strength. The trail of bodies led me here. I hesitated for only a moment before barging into their HQ. I needed my violin.

Desperately.

"Where is it." I called out in a monotonous tone.

"Where's what?" Some guy in a dark outfit responded. He was currently lounging on a beat up couch, reading a book. He barely spared me a second glance.

"My violin." I deadpanned. Now he looked at me. Both of us seemed to have the same dead-eyed expression.

"I don't have it."

"Bullshit."

"Tch." He then turned his attention back to his book. I narrowed my eyes at him, my mind running a million miles a minute. He wasn't the only one here, that much I knew. It would be stupid for me to attack him, even if I could beat him in a one on one fight, which I wasn't even certain I could do.

"Where's your boss?" I asked.

"Upstairs." He responded, turning a page.

I pursed my lips at him before turning away and quickly finding a stairwell.

_'I can tell we'll never get along. I hate that boy.'_

I remained alert as I trekked up the stairs. Who knew what they would try to throw at me-

I dodged out of the way of what I could only assume was a giant. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed before quickly reschooling my expression.

"Ha!!! You're fast" Some insane man with an afro exclaimed, grinning at me. It looked like he was wearing fur? For pants?

"Um-" I started, furrowing my eyebrows at him.

"Less talking!" And with that, he ran at me again. I managed to move out of his way again, despite being in a stairwell.

"Why are we fighting?!" I exclaimed, frantically dodging.

"Why aren't you fighting!?!" The man exclaimed. He looked fucking feral!

"I'm not in the habit of fighting animals!" I retorted before narrowing my eyes. _'I'm not in the habit of dying, either.'_ With that thought in mind, I reached over my shoulder and pulled a ridiculously decorated dagger out of thin air.

_'Killua's dagger.'_ I thought, unable to stop the flash of bitterness, or the shame that came immediately after.

Somehow his grin became even more feral as he charged at me again. I would really prefer to come at him from a distance, but I was in close quarters. I didn't have much of a choice.

This time I met his swing with my dagger, which extended in length a bit. I managed to deflect his blow so that my dagger was now pushing into his forearm. Strangely enough, it didn't cut him. It didn't take long to realize that I wouldn't be able to meet him blow for blow. His own brute strength far outweighed my own.

I pushed myself off of him and pivoted to the side, leaving him to crash into the wall as I took off up the rest of the stairs.

"Hey, get back here!" He shouted.

"No! You're like 40 years old, I'm not fighting you!" I shouted back. He actually only looked about 19, 20 at the most. I didn't know why I said that.

My eyes were wide as I kept running. Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that my father would be ashamed of me for showing fear, so I schooled my expression.

"HEY YOU BRAT!" I heard him shout. I entered a hall and kept running straight ahead before crashing through the door. In hindsight I could have just opened it, but it looked like I could just break it, so why not. There was a man with dark hair and dark eyes sitting at a desk calmly.

He had a disarming smile on his face as he regarded me. His hair was straight and free of fly aways, but he had shaggy bangs. It led me to believe that he put a bit of care into his appearance, despite the fact that we lived somewhere that modern amenities were practically non-existent. I quickly drew my eyes away from his face to the top of his desk. Sitting there, in plain sight, was my violin case.

My mouth twitched towards a scowl before stilling as I marched up to the desk. "That belongs to me."

His expression didn't change from the very vision of tranquility that it was. "It didn't take you long to get here."

I snatched the case and narrowed my eyes at him. "Never take my things."

"I gave it back." He replied. It was pissing me off that he looked so nonplussed about all of this.

I closed my eyes for a second, my eyebrows twitching. "I _took_ it back."

"If I wanted to keep it, I could have."

I kept my eyes closed. I was well aware of the fact that I was in danger. I couldn't take on all of these people.

I couldn't see them all, sure, but I was well aware of their presence. Yet another reason for me to keep my expression as still as possible.

"I believe that." I opened my eyes and met his gaze. "So what do you want?"

"Just to say hello." He responded.

I inhaled sharply. " _Hello._ "

_I hate him._

-

-

-

That wasn't the last time I saw Chrollo Lucilfer, as I later learned was his name. It wasn't the last time I saw any of the three members I had seen that day.

Chrollo I found lounging by one of the cleanest water sources we had, reading a book that I recognized from a glance. It was one of my absolute favorites. Before I realized was I was doing, I was approaching him and taking a seat next to him.

"Hello Ivela." He greeted, turning a page.

"Do you like that book?" I asked, not bothering to return his greeting.

"I wouldn't be reading it if I didn't."

I bristled, but calmed myself. It was a fair answer.

I kept sitting there in silence for a moment, trying to think of what to say. On one hand, I wasn't here to make friends. On the other, I had never seen anybody else reading that book, and my family certainly never discussed literature with me.

Chrollo, to his credit, didn't push me to either carry on the conversation or leave him alone. He just kept reading his book, either unbothered by my presence or patiently waiting for me to say something else.

"It's one of my favorites." I finally spoke, breaking the silence. The water was suddenly extremely interesting to me as I ran my hands through the dirt. "Have you finished it yet?"

"Yes. I'm rereading it." He replied. I felt his gaze finally land on me. "I'm curious, what did you think of-"

We talked about that book for hours that day. The two of us had, apparently, lost track of time. I stared after his retreating form with narrowed eyes and furrowed eyebrows for a moment, before deciding that he wasn't bad company to keep after all.

I found the bad mannered guy when I followed the sound of blood curdling screams coming from somewhere nearby. Normally I wouldn't care about screams, but this one seemed somehow worse than usual.

When I found the source of the screams, it turned out to be the bad mannered guy from the Phantom Troupe building torturing someone who I didn't recognize.

I turned to walk away, deciding it was none of my business, when I noticed where he was cutting.

"It'll hurt more if you cut about an inch to the right." I stated. My expression remained neutral.

He said nothing, but, out of curiosity perhaps, did as I recommended. He was rewarded with louder screams.

The dead-eyed guy turned to look at me. Years of reading the members of my own family's expressions made it child's play to understand his unspoken question.

"You were just shy of hitting a group of nerve endings." I explained.

He regarded me for a moment. "I'm Feitan."

I nodded in response. "Ivela."

As it turned out, he knew some things about torture that I was unfamiliar with. We spent the day swapping techniques.

The barbarian actually found me. I was walking, scavenging for food when he chucked a beer can at my head. I caught it, of course. It took a second to register that he wasn't attacking me.

"Ivela! Have a drink with us!" The barbarian offered. He was accompanied by a tall man with a sword at his side.

I blinked. "I'm underage."

They laughed. "There's no laws here! Come on!" It was the tall one who spoke.

"Didn't you try to kill me?" I asked, still staring at the can.

"Pfffft. I wasn't tryna kill you!" The barbarian defended.

"Whatever." I said with a sigh. After a moment's debate, I popped open the can and chugged it down.

"Yeah! She's not a wuss!" One of them cheered.

The side of my mouth twitched. "It would take a lot more than that to get me drunk." _Or even buzzed._

"Oh, I like this one. Come on, let's go drink some more!"

I found out the barbarian's name was Uvogin, and the tall one's name was Nobunaga. They were both incredibly irresponsible....but kind of fun to be around. I didn't mind drinking with them.

Apparently I was destined to keep running into members of the phantom troupe. The next one to approach me was a blonde woman with an odd nose in smart business attire. Something about her put me at ease. For a second.

I berated myself and raised my guard back up. Anyone who immediately makes you feel safe is probably out to kill you.

"Do you want something?" I asked her.

"I'm Pakunoda." She introduced. "I'm a member of the Phantom Troupe."

"Another one of you?" I muttered. "Are you all following me around for any particular reason?"

"We all have our own reasons." She deflected. "Mine is that I'm a fan of classical music."

I narrowed my eyes at her. I couldn't tell if she was lying or not.

"I'm not lying. Would you play something for me?" She requested.

I opened my mouth to tell her to get lost before I shut it. Had anyone ever asked me to play for them before?

I wasn't sure. I didn't think so. Why would she be interested in my music. Was she plotting something?

She had to be.

"Not today." I muttered, before walking away.

Pakunoda was persistent. She seemed to really want to hear me play. Or she was determined to kill me. I honestly wasn't sure which. Eventually, I caved and played for her. She didn't try anything, but I still didn't trust her.

It wasn't the last time she asked me to play for her. She seemed oddly fond of my music. I found myself looking forward to her asking me to play. It felt right to perform.

The last member I met was a girl about my age. Machi. She approached me out of the blue one day and started talking to me about random nonsense. I wasn't sure about her. But, I did find her easy to talk to. We seemed to have a lot in common. Probably because of our age. And our less than orthodox upbringings, respectively.

I stared at her one day. "Do you think _I_ should dye my hair pink?" I wasn't sure what had made me want to do it, but I was tempted.

"What? Why?" She asked incredulously. She had been mid sentence when I interrupted her.

I shrugged in response.

"Also were you even listening to me?!"

I smirked sardonically at her in response.

-

-

-

Some time passes with me spending more and more time with the Troupe members. I didn't like them, of course, and they weren't my friends. I was just passing the time. Using them for entertainment. And because they were strong, it helped to be known as a friend of theirs's.

As I pondered on the fact that none of them were my friends and I wasn't fond of any of them, it occurred to me that I hadn't talked to Nobunaga in a while. That wouldn't do.

So I set off to go find him.

I was a pretty good tracker, so it didn't take me much time to find him. He seemed to be practicing his swordplay by himself.

"I could spar with you." I heard myself offer.

He stilled and regarded me with a hardened expression. "Do you even know anything about swords?"

"I know plenty." I responded. I was at least proficient with most weapons due to my upbringing. An assassin needs to know how to use any weapon available to them.

"Well then. Here!" And just like that, he tossed an unsheathed blade at me. I had no idea where he got it from, but I didn't have time to question it. No sooner had I caught it then he charged at me.

I blocked his swing, and we spent some time dancing around each other, steel clashing against steel. It was surprisingly fun.

I was holding my own just fine, but it was clear he was more talented with a blade than I was. I was constantly on the defensive. I managed to attack a few times, sure, but _goddamn_ he was on a different level with his sword. It was honestly quite impressive.

I wondered how we would fare against each other in a nen battle. I almost wanted to try.

When the fight ended, it was because I was on my ass.

He was laughing. He was laughing at me.

I felt my face redden as my hands clenched into fists.

"Hey, don't be angry! You're great! Who taught you?" He asked as I stood up.

I was stunned. "You were laughing...because you were impressed?" That didn't make any sense.

"Yeah!" He replied.

"Uh." I was at a loss. "My...father and grandfather mostly handled my training." None of this made any sense. He was praising me for losing?

"They must be good." Nobunaga said. "I'd love to fight them."

I shifted my weight back and forth between my feet. "I think you'd die?" I told him. "They're, uh, assassins."

"You're an assassin?!" He exclaimed. I nodded at him, my hands fidgeting. He calmed down and paused. "Hm. That explains a lot."

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding. I wasn't sure why I felt relieved. "Yeah. That's why I've had so much training."

"You and I should fight again sometime. Go ahead and keep that sword!" He offered with a disarming smile.

I tilted my head to the side slightly. "It's...a gift?"

"Yeah! Make sure to use it!"

I looked down at the sword in my hands, unable to comprehend him giving me a gift. I didn't expect to ever get any more gifts after being banished. I would make good use of it.

I always made good use of gifts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, guys, we're gonna be in Meteor City for a while.


	3. Meteor City Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivela definitely doesn't like the Troupe at all, and anyone who says she does is a dirty rotten liar.

My association with the Troupe only grew as time went on. I spent more time with Machi, Paku and Chrollo than the others, but I enjoyed being around all of them. They were decent company. When they asked me to help them out against a group that was testing their patience, I was more than happy to accept.

It would do me some good to have an actual battle outside of sparring.

(Actually, that fight was the first time I met Franklin. He was new. Ish.)

Looking out at the group of people standing against us, I felt remarkably calm. None of them struck me as particularly strong. None of them really seemed like slouches either, but it wasn't like I was weak.

The moment of peace was interrupted by a flurry of blows from both sides. As I cut into my first foe using a conjured version of Nobunaga's Blade, (the same blade he had give to me as a gift,) an impossibly large grin stretched across my face. It had been too long since I was in a proper fight!

A man met my blade with some sort of wooden baton which I assumed was conjured since I couldn't cut into it at all. For a brief moment, the two of us were at a standstill, both pushing at the other with all their might. Making a split second decision, I ducked down while making my katana disappear. Using the man's resulting imbalance I knocked him to the ground before finishing the job with Killua's Dagger. Trading that in for Nobunaga's Blade again I spun around to face my new foes.

I registered that the members of the Phantom Troupe seemed to be having just as much fun as I was...especially Uvo. There was no escaping his laughter. It made sense. In the short time I had known him I had learned how much he loved a brawl.

My grin grew wider as I let out a chuckle. Two more people advanced on me, one launching nen throwing knives at me as they ran. I dodged out of the way as I gleefully swung my blade in their direction. A wave of energy swept out with the arc of my swing, cutting one of the people in half while the one with the knives jumped gracefully over. I noticed that my attack had killed two other people behind my most recent attackers.

He dodged a few more of my swings, now a bit too up close and personal for my blade to be of much use to me anymore. I dodged a fistfull of knives as I swapped my blade back out for Killua's Dagger. I swiped at the man, but he dodged out of the way, immediately back on the offensive.

_'I'm at a disadvantage.'_

I didn't have a weapon that was good against this many individual knives. My dagger wasn't cutting it. He was gripping several of them in both hands like some kind of knifey version of brass knuckles. I never should have let him get up close. My smile slowly faded as I forced myself to focus.

_'Note to self. Get stab resistant gloves.'_ My skin might be resistant to most cuts, but Nen affected the equation too much to simply let him get a blow in.

Medical supplies were almost impossible to get a hold of here. I couldn't afford an injury.

I deflected one of his blows with my dagger, causing sparks to fly off of our respective weapons. He threw a punch which I blocked by meeting his arm with my right arm while swiping at his shoulder with my dagger in my left. My dagger sunk into his flesh as I brought it into a downward swipe, which he responded to by headbutting my forehead.

I stumbled back slightly, taking my knife with me, giving him all the opening he needed to land a kick to my stomach. It suddenly hurt to breath, but I pushed on as he launched at me again. I dodged to the side, trying to circle behind him to get a clean hit, but he responded immediately. It was a little weird to be on the defensive as much as I was. The rhythm of the battle was now entirely in his favor. That was a dangerous thing for me to have allowed to happen. My face reddened slightly as I berated myself internally.

I had gotten a clean hit on his shoulder. I just had to run him out of energy.

I leaned back, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed in the face. This put me off balance, something that he immediately took advantage of by sweeping my legs right out from under me. I landed on my back.

I quickly went to regain my footing, but he was already going in for the kill. I had to settle for just sitting up. I swapped out my dagger for Grandfather's Violin, using it to hold his knives at bay. The violin had more surface area. I grimaced at his grin as he pushed harder against my violin. He leaned over me ominously.

My mind was going a million miles a minutes as I tried to think of what I was going to do. Blood from his shoulder wound was dripping onto me, irritating me. Right as I had made the decision to kick him in the balls, the pressure lessened. My attacker's eyes were wide with shock. I glanced down and recognized the sword through his torso as Nobunaga's. My attacker was pushed off of me, and I registered that the fight was over.

The rest of the Troupe was staring at me as I remained sitting on the ground, my eyes wide.

_'What just happened? I could have handled it! I would have been fine! I was losing? Nobu saved me? I didn't need to be saved!'_ It had been looking dicey, but I was handling it! I was fine!

Chrollo began walking over to me.

_'No, please. Don't come over here.'_

I flinched and closed my eyes as he stopped in front of me, expecting the worst. I could already practically hear him.

_'Don't fail again. Next time we won't help you.'_

_'You should be ashamed of yourself.'_

_'Disgraceful.'_

I kept my eyes shut as I awaited the verbal and likely physical blow that would undoubtedly accompany my failure. After a few seconds of nothing, I opened one eye before my other flew open.

In front of my face was an outstretched palm.

_'He's...helping me up?'_

If he noticed my hand shaking a bit as I took his, he didn't say anything. Instead, he just pulled me to my feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked, staring at me.

I blinked. "You...aren't mad?" I looked around at all the members of the Troupe. None of them _seemed_ particularly angry.

Uvo was the one who answered. "Are you kidding?! You killed plenty!"

"It looked like a bad matchup." Paku affirmed.

"Tch." Feitan just made a noise like he was annoyed with me for even asking.

I furrowed my eyebrows at them all. "I...am confused."

"Don't be. We won." Machi stated simply, walking over to me.

"Yeah! Let's celebrate!" Uvo exclaimed, slinging an arm over my shoulder as he started walking me away from all the corpses. The others quickly followed suit, all talking and laughing while I just stared at them with obvious bewilderment.

_'Is this...normal?'_

-

-

-

Having almost lost that fight, I started training harder than ever. I had been slacking recently. That was why I had been so unprepared for a fight. It was pathetic. Or maybe people in Meteor City were just unreasonably strong. Regardless, I couldn't afford to be weak.

Looking back, my opponent shouldn't have been strong enough to even touch me, let alone have me on the ropes. There was something wrong with me. There had to be.

I was getting soft.

It was for these reasons that I elected to ask Feitan to torture me. I was getting soft. Torture training would help, I was certain of it.

However, when I asked, Feitan just looked at me while squinting. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I've been getting soft. Slacking. It's what we do in my family when someone messes up. Makes us stronger."

He stared at me for another second. "Why?"

I blinked at him. "It's torture training." While I registered that normal people didn't really...do torture training, I didn't think the concept would be so foreign to somebody from Meteor City.

I didn't even think he was really surprised. Actually, I couldn't read him at all at the moment.

"You did that a lot?" He asked.

I bristled. "No! I never used to mess up!" It was true. I had always fought so hard for my family's approval, I almost never made a mistake. I couldn't afford to, especially after Killua was born.

"No. Tortured." He clarified.

"Oh." I furrowed my eyebrows. "Well, yes. It hardens our bodies. Makes us more resistant to pain. I've been going through torture training since I was little."

Feitan considered this before nodding. "You don't need anymore. Maybe you had too much."

"Too much?"

"They went overboard."

I squinted at him. "How?"

"You handle pain fine."

"That's true, but-"

"Better to be holding the blade."

Well. I couldn't disagree with that.

-

-

-

I was lounging on the same couch that Feitan had been on when I first met him, staring aimlessly at the shoddy ceiling. Chrollo was reading a book on a beat up loveseat across the room.

"This is dull." I commented drily.

"What do you want?" Chrollo responded. I listened to him turn a page.

"A will to live."

"Haha." Another page was turned.

"I miss electricity." I stated. I had been thinking about home more and more lately. I wanted to go back there so badly. And the food here was terrible. I missed Killua...I missed Mom and Dad...a ridiculous part of me even missed Illumi.

I didn't miss Milluki. Well, maybe a little.

Chrollo didn't respond. He had heard me complain about the lack of electricity before. He probably thought that I was a spoiled brat. He was probably right, too. I had never known hardship like these guys had.

I missed Grandpa.

I vaguely registered a bit of moisture gathering in my eyes. "I miss my books."

I heard Chrollo's book shut. I continued staring at the ceiling as I heard him approach.

"You can have this one." Chrollo said.

I turned my head to see him holding out the book he was reading. "Chrollo, that's your favorite."

"I've read it." He responded.

"I can't just-"

"It's your's."

The two of us stared at each other for a moment before I sighed and took it out of his hand. I studied the cover as he returned to his seat.

My lips twitched as I fought a smile. "Thank you, Chrollo."

"I'm excited to discuss it with you."

"I'll let you know when I finish it."

-

-

-

It was nice to have lunch that I didn't have to cook. Paku had made it. I had found the two of them, and they offered to have me join them for lunch.

I was having fun.

"This tastes surprisingly good." I commented as I ate.

"Should I be offended?" Paku asked with a bemused expression.

"She's insulting you." Machi stated.

I looked up, panicking. "Wait, I-" then I realized that from her face that she was just teasing me. "Machi!"

She responded with a laugh. "Sorry, sorry."

"But why _are_ you surprised?" Paku asked again.

"I haven't had anything decent to eat since I got here." I told them.

"What, haven't you been cooking?" Machi asked.

I paused in my eating. "I uh...I never cooked before I got here."

Paku's eyes were wide. "Not once?"

"Never in my life." I admitted.

"...How are you still alive?!" Machi exclaimed.

"You don't know how to cook at all?" Paku verified.

I shook my head. "I've just kind of been throwing food on fire?"

The two of them looked at each other for a moment before they burst into hysterical laughter.

It was strange, 2 months ago I would have been bothered by their laughter. Instead I just kept eating my food.


	4. Meteor City III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivela doesn't care whether the troupe spends time with her or not.

I couldn't seem to distance myself from the Phantom Troupe. Every time I considered it I found myself somehow spending time with one of the members. It was strange. I had never wanted to spend so much time with somebody before, except maybe Killua; but even that was different.

At the time I was just concerned with showing him and everyone else that I was his superior in every way.

It wasn't long before they gathered new members. Only a few, and they helped lay the groundwork for the Troupe.

Shalnark and Phinks.

Phinks was ok. Pretty fun to mess with, actually. As far as Phantom Troupe members went, I'd say he was the most excitable. I mean, aside from Uvo. But he was a different kind of excitable. I spent a truly unnecessary amount of time bullying the man. Something about the way he reacted was hysterical to me.

He _had_ tried to fight me, however. Luckily I was really good at evading. Plus Chrollo always had my back....even though he told me to stop harassing the man. I didn't though. What was he gonna do? Stop me? Please.

I hated Shalnark. I had no idea why. I just did. He was the worst. He was entirely too cheerful. He, however, was determined to be my best friend. Whenever I was doing anything he just turned up and started pestering me.

"Ivela!"

And there he was now.

I elected to ignore him, instead continuing to play my violin in a secluded alley.

"Look, I brought you a crown!" He exclaimed, carrying with him a ridiculous silver circlet with a red gemstone centered in the front.

My violin screeched. "What?"

"Look how pretty it is!"

"I hate you."

"Aww, but you're my best friend!"

Naturally, I took the crown. I had hopes that he would give me a different gift sometime in the future, but I always need more gifts. Gives me more things to summon.

Chrollo and I had already talked about every book he had, and now we had started sharing our own stories with each other. Only told orally, because there was no way we were wasting paper on that. Plus I blatantly refused to write on the dirty paper that could be found here. It was gross.

It was kind of fun to bounce ideas off of each other. These sessions usually ended in the two of us chuckling at the absurdity of what we had just come up with.

"Did you make yourself into a character?" Chrollo asked me one time.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "No, she's-"

"She's an assassin born girl banished from the family trying to prove herself worthy so she can go home." He deadpanned.

I paused. "Alright so I might have made myself."

He laughed at me, the bastard. I joined him a few seconds later. It was, admittedly, kind of funny.

My time spent alone was filled with, surprisingly, composing. It was something I had never really had much time for after Killua was born, but I had enjoyed the hobby tremendously when I was still the heir. I wasn't sure why I had started writing music again. It felt kind of nice. They were all little songs, though. I didn't think I had it in me to write a full length one. Or, rather I didn't really have the inspiration.

I tended to meditate a lot while I was alone too. Basic nen training, I guess. It was incredibly important that I get stronger. I wouldn't let myself fall behind the others- the members of the troupe. My nen prowess grew by the day.

I was worried I was becoming an alcoholic with the amount of time I spent drinking with Uvo and Nobu. It was a good thing they never had enough alcohol to keep me buzzed for more than an hour. I didn't think Uvo ever had enough, either. He was always talking about how much he wanted to get me to an actual bar so he could "drink me under the table."

Personally I thought that I would beat him in a drinking contest.

I had started sparring with all the members of the troupe when they were up to it. There was no better training than actual combat. Well, not really actual combat. None of them wanted to kill me. I hoped.

"Ivela!" Machi called to me as I was walking. Her tone seemed...clipped. I didn't like that.

I paused my gait and half turned to see her approaching me.

"Machi." I stated.

"Did you take my dagger?"

I paused, furrowing my eyebrows. "Why would I do that?"

"You said you liked it." She replied, her eyebrows twitching.

I nodded. "It is a nice dagger."

"So you admit it?"

"No. I have a dagger."

The conversation continued in this fashion for a few moments before Machi stormed off, still convinced I had taken the dagger. I had no idea why she assumed that I would steal from her, but I had been unable to convince her otherwise. I spent the next week on my guard, fully expecting some kind of violent retaliation. It's what Illumi would have done, and they were about the same age. It was strange, despite Meteor City being a place in which I should've always been on my guard in, I realized that I had been oddly relaxed here. It was jarring to go back to a state of hypervigilance.

The next time that Machi approached me, it was again outright. I was honestly expecting some kind of ambush, but couldn't find any signs of one.

"Do you need something." I asked her after a moment of examination. She seemed to be struggling with something.

Honestly her demeanor was terrible. It was obvious she was about to do something she didn't nessecarily want to do, like stab me.

"I..." She paused again. I sighed. I wished she would just get this over with.

"I found my dagger." She finally said. _What?_ "It turns out I just misplaced it."

I narrowed my eyes at her. She was absolutely planning something.

"I uh, came to apologize."

My eyebrows raised practically to my hairline. "Apologize?"

"Yeah, I'm uh. I'm sorry I accused you."

I continued to stare at her for a minute. "Are you not going to stab me? Or....I don't know...try to set me on fire?"

"Not unless you stab me first!" Machi quipped before laughing.

.....Why.....was she laughing I was being completely serious.

"My hair has gotten longer." I noted. Chrollo and I had just finished discussing another ridiculous story when I brought up my hair in a lull in the conversation.

"That tends to happen." He replied.

I stared at him, eyes narrowed.

"Hair grows, Ivela."

"I hate you."

"Be that as it may," Chrollo said, smiling subtly. I hated it when he teased me. "Is there something wrong with that?" I assumed he was referring to my hair's length.

"Yes." I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"Do you want me to cut it?" He offered.

I stared at him blankly. "Have you ever cut hair before?"

"How hard could it be?"

He found that it was harder than he anticipated, as evidenced by the reflection staring at me from the water. The haircut was kind of choppy. It was actually a bit of a mess. It stopped at my shoulder, just as my hair had when I had first come here, but it wasn't perfectly sculpted.

"I'm sorry." Chrollo said from behind me.

"I love it..." I whispered, staring wide eyed at myself. It was so different than the ridiculously perfect bob I had been forced to have all my life. Mother was...insistent that I dress however she wanted me to.

"What?"

"This is the best haircut I've ever gotten. You have to cut my hair from now on!" I stood up from where I had been crouched by the waterside and rounded on him.

"H-hold on-"

"Too late, you're my hairdresser now." I was pretty good at reading him. He was secretly pleased that I liked what he had done.

"I-" He started, before sighing. I grinned for a split second, knowing I had won. "Okay." He relented.

It wasn't long before a year had passed since my arrival. It was honestly the best year of my life so far. But all good things must come to an end.

"We've done all we can here." Chrollo explained. "We have to branch out more."

"You'll come with us." Feitan said.

Paku shook her head. "Obviously he means we want you to come with us."

I glared at the ground while clutching the ends of my shirt. "I...can't."

"Why not?!" Uvo exclaimed, leaning forward. I could tell all of them were shocked by my admission.

"You know better than us that it's better out there!" Phinks yelled. It was nice to know that even he wanted me to come along.

"You can't really like it here." Machi stated.

_I did kind of like it here, actually. But..._ "You don't understand. I can't leave." I reiterated. I still couldn't bring myself to look at them.

"Ivela, you're being stubborn." Chrollo sighed. It was as if he couldn't fathom the concept of me not wanting to go with them. He was right to be confused. I _did_ want to go with them.

"I am not!" I shouted, looking up. "I....if I leave they'll..." I stopped, sighing heavily. I really didn't want to tell them.

"My family...they're...I'm..."

"They're assassins. You told me already. But what does that have to do with-" Nobu started.

I cut him off. "They're the Zoldycks." My admission was met with stunned silence. Even in Meteor City the Zoldycks were well known. We got all of our butlers from Meteor City. I looked anywhere but at their faces.

"The day before I came here, I tried to do something...unforgiveable." I didn't want to elaborate on what I had done. Especially not to people who were leaving. People I would never see again.

"They left me here, and told me if I ever left that they would kill me. I know they weren't just saying that. If I leave, I'll die."

The air was heavy. A pin dropping could break the silence.

Paku was the first to recover. "We'll just have to visit you then."

The rest of them were quick to agree.

I smiled humorlessly at them. "Then, I'll see you when you do." I didn't believe them.

I would never see them again. Of that I was certain.


	5. Meteor City IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ivela gets character development.

After the troupe left, I started composing a song for them. I wasn't sure why. It wasn't like I was going to be able to play it for them but...it provided me with some peace. It reminded me of them. It wasn't just them that playing my violin reminded me of, though.

Every time I looked at it I remembered my grandfather. My mother, my father...my brothers. It made me want to tear it apart.

I wouldn't, though. My father always told me I was a sentimental fool, and he was right.

The music it made was nice, at least.

Inspiration had struck me in the middle of the street and I was working on a random stanza. Eventually I was going to have to put all of these parts together, but for now I just kept coming up with more pieces. I couldn't help but wonder if they would ever fit together.

I was interrupted by a familiar face. I couldn't quite place it at first, though.

"Give me your violin!" She demanded, standing in a threatening manner.

I stared at her blankly.

"Now, or- or I'll kill you!" She continued.

Oh, that's right. Zara. The girl I made lead me into the part of the city that people actually lived in.

"Why?" I asked. I was still positioned to play as if her presence made no difference to me. It didn't really.

"I'm- I'm gonna sell it!" Zara yelled. The woman was practically shaking. How tedious.

I tilted my head to the side. "To who?"

"Um-"

"Nobody here would ever buy this. Nobody can play it." I paused. "Why do you want it?"

Zara faltered, lowering her fists and looking at the ground. "Y-your music is beautiful. I thought that...maybe I could make it."

It remained silent. She was still trembling. She probably thought I was going to kill her. I was considering it. She did threaten me, after all...

"Would you like me to teach you?" I offered, surprising even myself.

-

-

-

After that, more and more people began approaching me asking for lessons. They started trading with me for them.

It was almost like I was an actual musician holding classes. After a while, people started trading violins to people. I assumed they bought them with whatever money they made working for the mafia.

I saw the mafia often. Well, their runners. It was strange how many jobs they were doing recently. They'd come to me a few times to ask me to handle a job for them. I obviously could never complete them, but I could at least point them in the direction of somebody who could. After the fourth time of me doing that, they started to come to me first. They even payed me. Jenny was no good to me, so I gave them a list of things that would work as payment.

I couldn't wait to discuss my new books with Chr-

Oh.

Right.

-

-

-

I was in the middle of teaching a class when I felt a familiar presence. It had been two months since I had last felt it. I almost dropped my violin I whipped around so fast-

"Chrollo?"

"I hadn't even said hello yet." Chrollo said, seemingly amused by my quick response to his presence. "What's this?"

My class was unnerved, but seemed to trust me to protect them from the former resident. "I'm teaching them to play the violin."

"How domestic."

I pursed my lips, trying to hide how truly pleased I was to see him. "I have to do _something_ while you're not here." I then turned to face my class. "An old friend of mine is visiting. Class is over for today. Your next lesson will be free. I apologize."

They grumbled a bit, but they knew better than to kick up a fuss. When they were gone I turned to face Chrollo.

He was still smiling. "I brought you some books and sheet music."

I wasn't quite sure what to say to him, and I think he could sense that.

"I also brought food."

And those were the magic words. "What food did you bring? Is it cake? Cookies? Pasta?" I asked, advancing on him quickly.

His smile seemed to grow warmer at this. "You'll have to find out."

I narrowed my eyes. "Let's eat now."

"So impatient."

"Come on!" I demanded, grabbing him by his free arm and dragging him with me. When we got to my "residence" I paused for a brief moment.

"I-" I started, staring at the ground for a moment.

"Yes?"

I shook my head before dragging him inside. "I'm gonna have to read the books before you leave. So we can discuss them."

_I didn't think you'd come back._

-

-

-

I was less sad when Chrollo left again. After all, this time I knew he'd be back. All of them would be back. They had no reason to, but they would. Just to visit me.

How strange.

The song that I had been composing with them in mind was so much easier now. I could hear how the puzzle fit together. It all started making sense to me. It had to be perfect, though. I couldn't count the amount of times that I had scrapped an entire section. Chrollo had given me a notebook that I was using to write it all down. I couldn't risk losing any of what I had already come up with. Maybe one day I would play it for them all. I knew Paku at least would like to hear it.

Time kept passing me by. Members of the troupe visited from time to time, usually by themselves. Sometimes they visited in pairs, but never all at once. That was fine with me.

Any time they got a new member somebody came to introduce them to me. Apparently Chrollo wanted there to be a total of thirteen members. I wasn't really sure why. (I mean, I had an idea, but he had never actually _told_ me.) It kind of stung that I couldn't be a member, but I understood why. What use could I be to them if I couldn't leave the city?

Still, they clearly cared about me, and that was all I really needed.

Meteor City was starting to feel more like home. My thoughts didn't turn to Zoldyck Manor nearly as often as they used to. The people here were all fond of me. Or at the very least they knew better than to outwardly express their distaste of me.

I didn't "take care of people's problems" as often as I used to, since I was so busy with my classes, but I was still willing. Not to mention I had begun to serve as a liaison for the mafia. Honestly, aside from the complete and utter lack of modern amenities, Meteor City was quite comfortable.

I did miss having a chef, though. I still couldn't quite grasp the concept of cooking. Nobody had ever explained it to me. And it wasn't like I had an abundance of seasoning here.

....I missed good food so much.

-

-

-

Apparently the Troupe had gotten pretty busy as of late, trying to establish themselves in the greater world. They didn't have the time to visit me like they used to. It was okay though, I knew they hadn't forgotten about me. They still sent me messages from time to time, so I at least knew that they were thinking of me.

I tried not to think about how much I wanted to join them in whatever it was they were up to. That line of thought was dangerous. It might make me do something reckless.

I was laying on my pathetic mattress staring at a scarf that Paku had gotten me. It wasn't the actual scarf, it was a copy that I had conjured up. It had been quite some time since she had visited me. I missed her. I really wanted to see her again.

I closed my eyes, sighing heavily. Suddenly, it felt like I was falling, which was impossible.

My eyes shot open and I was standing in an unfamiliar bedroom. It was opulently decorated.

"What the fuck?" I muttered, looking around before I spotted a familiar face.

"Paku?" I questioned. She didn't look at me. She was currently cooking.

"Paku!" I tried again. Still no answer. "Pukunoda!" I exclaimed. It seemed she finally heard me as she whipped around to face me. Her gun was already drawn. She lowered it upon recognizing me, a perplexed expression on her face.

"Ivela? How did you get here?" She asked.

I looked around. "I have no idea. I was just holding the scarf you gave me and thinking about seeing you and then I was here." I shrugged at her. I had no real explanation.

Paku paused before nodding. "Ah. It must be your specialist ability."

"I'm not a specialist." I stated, raising an eyebrow at her.

She furrowed her eyebrows at me. "But you are."

_That is not what my parents told me._ "I must have developed a specialist ability, I guess." I was a conjurer.

"...I suppose." She said, seemingly unconvinced. "You'll have to figure out its limitations yourself."

I nodded. "I wouldn't expect you to have any insight."

I stayed and talked with her for a long while, quickly discovering that it didn't seem to have any kind of time restraint. That was good to know.

I figured out that going back was done much the same way as getting here.

I spent a lot of time figuring out my ability, which I decided not to give a name to. It seemed to tie into my conjuration ability quite nicely. I figured I'd just call it a part of "Gift Box."

In my defense I named my ability when I was young.

I found that I had to have been given a gift from somebody in order to visit with them, and I had to have chosen to use that particular gift within my Gift Box ability.

All of my Gift Box restrictions applied. When I was visiting someone, they couldn't see or feel me until I said their name. Their first or last name would suffice, I discovered, but it couldn't be a nickname.

Only they could see or feel me when I was visiting them. And I couldn't attack them, just the same as they couldn't attack me. I hadn't quite tested the theory on how my ability differentiated between an attack and innocent touching. That required further experimentation.

It was nice, actually. I could still see everyone without ever having to leave.

I could even see Killua.

He thought I was an imaginary friend.

I even checked up on my parents and grandfather from time to time. They seemed to be doing well, but I wasn't expecting them to be suffering. I was always careful to never make them aware of my presence, however. They didn't need to know what I was capable of. My luck they'd forbid it.

The time between the visits from the troupe grew ever larger, but it didn't really matter since I could visit whenever I wanted! I saw them all the time! It wasn't quite the same as seeing them in person, though. Apparently I felt different to them. Every time I visited Uvo he would throw something at my head. It would always just sail harmlessly through me. It was usually a can of beer.

He always looked so disappointed that I hadn't caught it. I think he was upset because now he couldn't drink the beer. (Cause it was all shaken up.)

The last time he visited the city he brought a keg.

That was a good time.

I barely thought of returning to Zoldyck Manor anymore.

-

-

-

It was almost like no time at all had passed before it was the second anniversary of my arrival to Meteor City. It was strange. This place was supposed to be a punishment, but it felt like anything but.

Which, admittedly, didn't make me feel as good as it should.

It wasn't like I had been falsely accused. I deserved to be punished.

I shook those thoughts away. It was better not to focus on them. The present was so much more pleasant than the past.

I hadn't been expecting it, but...the entire troupe came to visit me. I couldn't quite figure out why. It seemed like a strange thing to do.

I appreciated it, though.

Everyone around me was talking and laughing. I didn't know what about. Try as I might, I couldn't pay attention. I was too busy wishing it could be like this all the time.

I was too busy wondering what it would be like to _really_ be a part of the Phantom Troupe.

I was too caught up in the realization that sitting here with all of them felt _right_ in a way being with my actually family had never.

"When _is_ your birthday, Ivela?"

I blinked. Chrollo was looking at me expectantly. Actually, they all were. I assume they had been talking about birthdays before and I realized they had no idea when mine was.

I made a split second decision.

"Today, actually. July 8th." The day I came to Meteor City. I didn't know why, but the day I was born a Zoldyck didn't feel like the right answer anymore.

The troupe were immediately in an uproar.

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

That seemed to be a sentiment shared by them all.

"Sorry, sorry." I said sheepishly.

"It's just a good thing we had a gift for you anyway!" Uvo exclaimed.

I narrowed my eyes. "Gift?"

"Hey! You weren't supposed to tell her that yet!" Nobu yelled.

"Uvo!" Chrollo said harshly.

The others also admonished him.

"We were gonna give it to her anyway!" Uvo defended.

Paku sighed. "The _plan_ was to give it to her when we left. But I suppose now we don't have a choice."

I was beginning to think they liked giving me gifts because they felt bad for me, being cooped up here. That didn't bother me as much as it should have, though. Maybe people should feel a _little_ bad for me. I have to bathe in a dirty river.

"I'm waiting with bated breath." I said blankly.

"We're gonna wipe that look off your face." Machi vowed. "Close your eyes."

I did as requested. _If it isn't food I'm gonna be pissed-_

I almost snickered at my own joke.

A moment later, I was told to open my eyes. Chrollo was standing in front of me holding a violin. At first glance it was nothing special. I was confused. I already had a violin, I didn't need-

Wait.

My eyes widened as I carefully took the violin from him. It was a Strandivari Violin.

Back when the world was my oyster, (so long as I obeyed,) I had taken a particular interest in valuable violins, for obvious reasons. This one in particular was...

Insane.

I looked at Chrollo with my eyes wide, and turned my gaze to the other members. They were all staring at me.

This was literally the most valuable violin in the world. This violin was...perfection.

I couldn't believe they'd stolen this for me.

Whenever my family had given me gifts, they'd always been practical. Any gifts that weren't murder related weren't gifts at all. They were rewards.

A dagger. A bottle of poison. A blade hidden within a bracelet.

Nothing they ever gave me was to create. Every 'gift' I received from them was a tool meant to help me do whatever they wanted me to. Nothing was ever chosen just because I might like it.

In contrast, the troupe had always brought me things that made them think of me. They brought me books. They brought me food, sheet music, scarves, clothes. Things to make me more comfortable.

Things to make me happy.

Things to make me smile.

"Ivela?" I heard Chrollo ask.

I blinked, registering that my eyes had started to well up. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my eyes.

"Do you like it?" He asked softly.

I stepped back and regarded the whole troupe, as opposed to just Chrollo.

They were all staring at me.

I stared back blankly, before I smiled warmly. "I love it."

The uproar was immediate.

"What a pretty smile!" (I still hate Shalnark.)

"Ivela can smile?!?!"

"I DIDN'T THINK SHE COULD!!"

"You guys haven't seen her smile?" That one was Chrollo.

"You have??!?!?!"

I just kept smiling at the chaos I had caused, waiting for it to settle down. If anything, my smile was only growing wider.

I adored these people.

I snickered as the chaos only grew. They were being completely ridiculous. It was just a smile.

I pursed my lips and turned away from the Troupe. They quieted down immediately as I positioned my new violin on my shoulder.

"So. Do you guys want to hear a song?"

I didn't wait for a response, instead choosing to force them to listen to me play the song I'd written for them.

8 years passed mostly uneventfully.

After that first birthday celebration, the trend of me seeing the troupe in person less and less continued, although they all came for my birthday every year. Or...they did. Before my father came. Before he killed a member on my birthday.

(To be fair, he was unaware that it was my birthday. But still. To hell with him.)

I liked the girl he killed. She was kind.

He and Chrollo fought. My father didn't stick around to finish the fight. Of course he didn't. Chrollo wasn't his target.

I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even let my father see me.

After that, it was decided that the Troupe having a regular day where they're all in one place was a bad idea, even if it was only once a year.

I still saw them, but those get-togethers that I had so cherished were long gone. I started to get a little scrappy with everyone that I could. I had to be the strongest Zoldyck. At least for now. My training regimen was intense.

I met many people over the years, although only two of them were particularly memorable. They all inevitably left or died any way. Aside from those two, the only people I bothered to remember were my violin students.

I remembered a girl that I trained. She grew to be quite strong. So strong that when a butler from the Zoldyck estate came looking for a new apprentice, I sent her off with them.

Cruel, perhaps, but it was what she wanted. Besides, the family never did much to the butlers. They wouldn't treat her the way they'd treated me. She'd be fine.

The other....well. Ging was...well. Um. Hm.

He wasn't someone I liked to think about.

Some of my violin students managed to get out of Meteor City and make something of themselves.

Or at least I hoped they had. I only really knew that they had left to go join an orchestra or something. I try not to think about them either.

No, I have to stay focused. I have to keep running towards my goal.

I'm going to get out of Meteor City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are! Next chapter we start the real story. Only took 5 chapters to get there, counting the prologue. Hope you guys liked the Meteor City Arc! IT WAS A LOT
> 
> Also, Ivela's violin is based (obviously) off of Stradivarius Violins. Her's in particular would be this world's equivalent of the Messiah Stradivarius. That's right guys the Troupe went all out.
> 
> They said "If we're stealing Ivela a violin, it's gonna be a VIOLIN."


End file.
